BSAGCA
09-15-09, 21:22
Preface:
This is only my second carbine class and I am a civilian so this AAR is from that perspective. I have used much of the day to day descriptions from the AAR jmw2 posted on Lightfighter.net for the April 2009 class as this last class closely followed the April class’ line of instruction.
Dan Brokos with Team Viking Tactics conducted his three day Carbine 1.5 class at a private range in Linden, NC.
Dan has a Special Operations background with extensive real world experience. His insight into what works and what doesn't when it comes to fighting with a carbine is invaluable. He was able to give good examples of when the techniques being taught were used to great advantage in taking the fight to the enemy. Dan is the co-star in the Viking Tactics videos on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/VikingTactics
There were 14 people in the class with the usual mix of military, law enforcement
and civilians. They came from as far away as Washington State and California as well as from NC and VA. It was a good group of guys who got along well and were pretty relaxed with each other with the normal good natured rivalry for some during the timed competitions.
Day 1
Dan started with a quick introduction and safety briefing, then right into a discussion on ballistics, zeroing, and basic marksmanship. Zeros were checked and rechecked at different distances. A series of drills were run from 100yds and in, using prone, seated, kneeling and standing positions. These reinforced
the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship. Moving closer in, we worked on controlled pairs, and multiple targets. You can see examples of a few drills used to help reinforce the key learning points:
Half & Half Drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-oYRn_llgo
2x2x2 Drill http: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVGPEgRZwIw
DAY 2
A good bit of time was spent going over malfunctions, ensuring we understood how the specific problems occur and the steps Dan uses to clear them. He threw in a good exercise where you ran from around the 30yd line to the 5 where three weapons with malfunctions were waiting. You had to clear and fire two shots from each one. Also covered was transitioning to your secondary weapon and when to do so. More close in work was done, hammering home the importance of having a good stance, getting your eyes on the next target and driving the weapon aggressively. After covering forward and lateral movement, we did a few drills that combined several of the teaching points covered during the first two days. Here is one example: Zig Zag Drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q55MHk8Q-2E
DAY 3
Transitioning from strong side to support side and the use of different shooting positions started off the day. Several unusual positions were demonstrated then we were given time to get comfortable with them. The positions presented may have seemed odd at first but Dan gave real world applications where they could be useful. The barricade portion of the class provided the opportunity to use these odd positions to engage targets at 100 yards. This was not just get behind the barricade and shoot, physical exertion was thrown in to make it a greater challenge. The point of the transitions and positions: one must be comfortable shooting strong and support side from different positions because you are not always going to be presented with the perfect situation. The final drill incorporated a lot of what was taught during the past three days: Highsmith Drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZJzJGawqLs
Dan's teaching style is relaxed and very straight forward.. There was an appropriate amount of time for student feedback and questions with a bit of time set aside for the occasional joke. Most importantly the majority of the time over the 3 days was allocated for shooting, correcting and working our tails off. Dan’s no nonsense approach to delivering the course material was spot on and very appropriate for this caliber of class. Dan presents the material clearly and throws in examples where it could be applicable or where he actually used it. He took every opportunity he could to teach one on one during the drills and work with a struggling student. He will challenge you to push yourself until “the wheels fall off” except for when it comes to safety. Dan always emphasized accuracy and speed and not just the latter. He also emphasized that having a good steady base to shoot from is what gets you there whether it is from a stationary or moving position. Dan included some drills where students were competing one on one to help with the push for speed and accuracy. This definitely showed where you needed to tighten down or commit to muscle memory the technique. I think the guys will all hear “KNEEES!” in their sleep for awhile!
Dan ran the class as if he had paid for the training himself. We started on time each morning and the breaks were held to the time allocated.
Guns/Ammo:
There were several military issue rifles as well as a mix of LMT, Noveske, and custom built rifles.
One guy was running 5.45 upper with C Products mags. It didn't have any issues.
There were at least three personal built guns that worked well during the class. One had a mag issue with a Tangodown mag but otherwise no issues from these that I recall.
One grip screw was tightened on day 2
One castle nut was tightened on day 1
Facility and range material:
The range worked very well for the class and the V-TAC provided steel and other target equipment was excellent
Round count at about 1400-1500 rounds on the rifle and about 100-200 on pistol.
One shooter was running Wolf .223 ammo with no ammo problems that I recall.
View of the class:
The VTAC Carbine 1.5 class begins with a few drills reinforcing basic marksmanship fundamentals then quickly ramps up, pushing you beyond your comfort zone by having you apply the basics under stress. The challenge of shooting at various distances while moving and from different positions behind cover makes it a well rounded course. Dan did a great job of bringing all of the points home by verbally describing and physically demonstrating the techniques for us to learn. While my experience is limited for classes, I highly recommend taking the class if you have the opportunity. Others with more experience hopefully will chime in with there thoughts on the class.
Thank you to Kyle’s wife and Dan’s wife for setting up the chicken dinner and for making that great candy bar desert.
Congratulations to “LT” for taking top gun and to the “hairy PJ” and “white Ape” for a close second and third place finish. Outstanding shooting, Gentlemen.
You can get the book “Green Eyes and Black Rifles” written by Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics which discusses a lot of the points hammered home during the class at: http://www.vikingtactics.com/book.html
You can watch the drills at: http://www.youtube.com/user/VikingTactics
Here is the link to the class on the VTAC website: http://www.vikingtactics.com/instruction.html
There is no substitute for live training.
This is only my second carbine class and I am a civilian so this AAR is from that perspective. I have used much of the day to day descriptions from the AAR jmw2 posted on Lightfighter.net for the April 2009 class as this last class closely followed the April class’ line of instruction.
Dan Brokos with Team Viking Tactics conducted his three day Carbine 1.5 class at a private range in Linden, NC.
Dan has a Special Operations background with extensive real world experience. His insight into what works and what doesn't when it comes to fighting with a carbine is invaluable. He was able to give good examples of when the techniques being taught were used to great advantage in taking the fight to the enemy. Dan is the co-star in the Viking Tactics videos on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/VikingTactics
There were 14 people in the class with the usual mix of military, law enforcement
and civilians. They came from as far away as Washington State and California as well as from NC and VA. It was a good group of guys who got along well and were pretty relaxed with each other with the normal good natured rivalry for some during the timed competitions.
Day 1
Dan started with a quick introduction and safety briefing, then right into a discussion on ballistics, zeroing, and basic marksmanship. Zeros were checked and rechecked at different distances. A series of drills were run from 100yds and in, using prone, seated, kneeling and standing positions. These reinforced
the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship. Moving closer in, we worked on controlled pairs, and multiple targets. You can see examples of a few drills used to help reinforce the key learning points:
Half & Half Drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-oYRn_llgo
2x2x2 Drill http: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVGPEgRZwIw
DAY 2
A good bit of time was spent going over malfunctions, ensuring we understood how the specific problems occur and the steps Dan uses to clear them. He threw in a good exercise where you ran from around the 30yd line to the 5 where three weapons with malfunctions were waiting. You had to clear and fire two shots from each one. Also covered was transitioning to your secondary weapon and when to do so. More close in work was done, hammering home the importance of having a good stance, getting your eyes on the next target and driving the weapon aggressively. After covering forward and lateral movement, we did a few drills that combined several of the teaching points covered during the first two days. Here is one example: Zig Zag Drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q55MHk8Q-2E
DAY 3
Transitioning from strong side to support side and the use of different shooting positions started off the day. Several unusual positions were demonstrated then we were given time to get comfortable with them. The positions presented may have seemed odd at first but Dan gave real world applications where they could be useful. The barricade portion of the class provided the opportunity to use these odd positions to engage targets at 100 yards. This was not just get behind the barricade and shoot, physical exertion was thrown in to make it a greater challenge. The point of the transitions and positions: one must be comfortable shooting strong and support side from different positions because you are not always going to be presented with the perfect situation. The final drill incorporated a lot of what was taught during the past three days: Highsmith Drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZJzJGawqLs
Dan's teaching style is relaxed and very straight forward.. There was an appropriate amount of time for student feedback and questions with a bit of time set aside for the occasional joke. Most importantly the majority of the time over the 3 days was allocated for shooting, correcting and working our tails off. Dan’s no nonsense approach to delivering the course material was spot on and very appropriate for this caliber of class. Dan presents the material clearly and throws in examples where it could be applicable or where he actually used it. He took every opportunity he could to teach one on one during the drills and work with a struggling student. He will challenge you to push yourself until “the wheels fall off” except for when it comes to safety. Dan always emphasized accuracy and speed and not just the latter. He also emphasized that having a good steady base to shoot from is what gets you there whether it is from a stationary or moving position. Dan included some drills where students were competing one on one to help with the push for speed and accuracy. This definitely showed where you needed to tighten down or commit to muscle memory the technique. I think the guys will all hear “KNEEES!” in their sleep for awhile!
Dan ran the class as if he had paid for the training himself. We started on time each morning and the breaks were held to the time allocated.
Guns/Ammo:
There were several military issue rifles as well as a mix of LMT, Noveske, and custom built rifles.
One guy was running 5.45 upper with C Products mags. It didn't have any issues.
There were at least three personal built guns that worked well during the class. One had a mag issue with a Tangodown mag but otherwise no issues from these that I recall.
One grip screw was tightened on day 2
One castle nut was tightened on day 1
Facility and range material:
The range worked very well for the class and the V-TAC provided steel and other target equipment was excellent
Round count at about 1400-1500 rounds on the rifle and about 100-200 on pistol.
One shooter was running Wolf .223 ammo with no ammo problems that I recall.
View of the class:
The VTAC Carbine 1.5 class begins with a few drills reinforcing basic marksmanship fundamentals then quickly ramps up, pushing you beyond your comfort zone by having you apply the basics under stress. The challenge of shooting at various distances while moving and from different positions behind cover makes it a well rounded course. Dan did a great job of bringing all of the points home by verbally describing and physically demonstrating the techniques for us to learn. While my experience is limited for classes, I highly recommend taking the class if you have the opportunity. Others with more experience hopefully will chime in with there thoughts on the class.
Thank you to Kyle’s wife and Dan’s wife for setting up the chicken dinner and for making that great candy bar desert.
Congratulations to “LT” for taking top gun and to the “hairy PJ” and “white Ape” for a close second and third place finish. Outstanding shooting, Gentlemen.
You can get the book “Green Eyes and Black Rifles” written by Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics which discusses a lot of the points hammered home during the class at: http://www.vikingtactics.com/book.html
You can watch the drills at: http://www.youtube.com/user/VikingTactics
Here is the link to the class on the VTAC website: http://www.vikingtactics.com/instruction.html
There is no substitute for live training.